Studying this module, I learned that children learn through play, imitation and exploring things for themselves. Within education, music activities use a range of sensory systems such as vision, hearing and movement so that learning can be fun but meaningful.  Music enables children to learn new words and concepts. A lot of musical activities are done in groups, this provides children with the opportunity to enhance social skills, they practice taking turns and cooperation, learners are also taught how to express emotions in different ways.

Music can raise someone's mood, get them excited, calm or relaxed. Integrating music with other Foundation Phase subjects can make learning easier and enjoyable resulting in learners having better results in both the other subject and also in music. A child develops physically when responding to music in a form of dance and when he/ she plays a musical instrument. Children taught through music will overall be smarter than children taught in a traditional subject classroom. Those taught through music will have a better cognitive development resulting in learners who are more multitasking, concentrate better and their literacy and numeracy skills are better than the rest.

This module is a heart of teaching Foundation Phase, while keeping in mind that learners are different according to their learning abilities, backgrounds, socio- economic statuses but in the classroom we are all the same and will be treated with respect we all deserve.

When planning a music lesson the following should be considered:

1.There should be music at the beginning and the end of a lesson.

2.Music recordings or from you tube should not be used without a  specific aim.

3.Learners should be guided into listening to music eg. a specific criteria should be given, elements to look for, movements etc.

4.A variety of teaching and learning activities should be included into the lesson.

A typical lesson has 3 phases, which are introductory phase, teaching & learning phase and the conclusion phase. For each phase there should be a teacher activity, learner activities and the type of assessment and strategies for each activity.

When designing a lesson plan, the teacher should know for what type of assessment is she/ he designing for: eg. is the assessment a Baseline, Formative, Summative, Diagnostic, or Observational assessment, as well as the type of assessment form that will be used.

The teacher should indicate how different learners will be assessed due to their different learning styles and variation.

Inclusion of music & arts in the Foundation Phase 

The inclusion of music in other Foundation Phase subjects is very important for young children. Music ignites all aspects of child development and skills needed for school readiness, these skills are intellectual, social, emotional, language, motor and overall literacy. These skills help the body and mind to work together, learners exposed to music during early development helps them with sound and meaning to words.  

Arts integration is a an approach to teaching where learners construct and show understanding through an art form. They engage in creative processes that connect any art form to another subject and get successful results in both subjects.

Benefits of an integrative approach

1.It connects visualization, with reading comprehension.

2.Contextualizes mathematics

3.Brings an experiential context to science or social studies.

4.Assist learners understand & apply skills to standardized exams.

Integrating studies with arts will benefit learners academically and in a cognitive manner as well as allow learners to understand and enjoy their lessons and difficult topics better. Associating letters, words and phrases with sounds will enhance basic reading instruction by breaking the phonetic code. Learners who engage in dramatic acting of Literature will improve their reading understanding, they will understand literature better and their vocabularies will be widened.

Learners that learn using an individual art form or multi-forms have an ability to concentrate, their memories are sharpened and strengthened, they have an ability to organize and have sequencing ideas. They also have problem solving skills and reason abilities and show components of creative thinking.

Including music in the Foundation Phase classroom will not only make learners have fun in class, they will be exposed to new words and build their vocabularies, they will not be distracted from time to time, a jingle will be used at the beginning of every activity, making learners aware of the time concept with regards to activities that unfold throughout the entire day. 

Play: The work of children, consisting of activity performances to entertain, this has behavioural, social and psychomotor rewards. There are 3 types of plays with different characteristics in the foundation phase classroom:

1.Traditional play: This type of play is fixed and the rules are important, the rules, the rules don't change or they rarely change.

2.Open: In these types of plays, improvisation is welcome, rules may be changed to suit the needs of children from time to time.

3. Original: These are creative plays based on curiosity.

the African context teaches that play is a way we communicate, compete, test and most important for children, they enjoy while learning some new lessons. One of the essential components of child development is play because it consists of singing/ the use of songs and there are also movements involved: this acts as a development to gross motor skills for young children, storytelling is a way to develop learner's cognitive abilities, as new information will be learned. Play develops intellectual and emotional aspects of the child. This teaches morals, values and modifies child behaviour.

Play has certain advantages

1. Learners have to work together, that provides a sense of belonging to shy and a platform to those learners that never say anything in the classroom.

2. Individuals and group discipline is made in a simple, playful way. Learners get to know that rules are a way of life in a relaxed environment.

3.Learners's imagination level is enhanced and they are able to relate to other children despite their racial, language spoken, economic status or social differences.

4.Multiple dimension such as music, dance, drama, history and other aspects are involved in play, as well as school related subjects such as mathematical, language and life- skills are sharpened.

Genres of games

Clapping and singing games: this game is accompanied by singing. The children's clapping will either increase or decrease in tempo. Children learn to work in cooperation, coordination and concentration to master clapping and singing. Clapping and body action games refine fine and gross motor movements, learners are allowed to challenge and surprise their opponents however they want.

In conclusion, play has always one the best components of child developments especially in African countries with music and dance side by side. Music was seen as a way to distribute messages and real life lesson in a relaxed and playful environment.

Music cannot be separated from other music related activities such as the playing of instruments and movement/ dance. Leaners have different abilities and learning styles making music a platform to address those differences as early as the Foundation Phase, however children's differences should be respected, be it the culture, heritage and ethics of a learner.

A musical activity is not always about the classroom full of instruments, the teacher can be creative and introduce a body percussion activity where learners use their own bodies to make different sounds. Another important factor about music is that it can be infused with other subjects in the classroom to create a fun learning environment as we know that young children learn through playing. The aim of music infusion in the classroom is that learners should find success and enjoyment in their learning while their equality as human beings are advocated. Before choosing a musical activity, the teacher should be aware of the learner's interests. 

According to Erikson's theory of psychosocial development, learners in the Foundation Phase fall under the stage of industry vs inferiority (aged 5 - 11 years). They rely on feedback from their social interactions and relationships. Foundation Phase teachers play the role of providing learners with motivation and encouragement so that they can grow to be beings with positive self-esteem and confidence.

learners in the Foundation Phase are able to respond to sounds, they have the ability to listen and respond to different dynamics or tempo of different music. As attention span increases with age, they may move away or be bored from nursery rhymes and respond more positively to contemporary and Disney sounds by ages 7 - 9 ( grade 1 - 3).

The following are positive developments of learning in musical infusion.  

Physical development: as learners dance or play a musical instrument they develop their gross and fine motor skills, as well as hand eye coordination. When they move to musical sounds, they develop balance, awareness of their bodies and timing.

Cognitive Development: Music activities enhance attentiveness, multitasking as well as multi tasking. Literacy, numeracy and social skills are also developed.

Personal Development: When a Foundation Phase learner finds success in music education, they positively participate with peers, this leads to a learner being confident and sometimes successfully finds career paths in something to do with music.